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Summary:
Rapper Isaiah Rashad's third full-length studio release features guest appearances by Dominic Fike, Julian Sintonia and SZA.
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- Record Label: Top Dawg Entertainment
- Genre(s): Rap
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 7 out of 8
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Mixed: 1 out of 8
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Negative: 0 out of 8
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May 22, 2026IT’S BEEN AWFUL is the sound of Rashad breaking lock after lock open, and letting everything bundle out into the open; on the late-summer air, his flurried thoughts spread into a stunning whole of growth and selfhood.
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May 14, 2026It’s Been Awful boasts some of Rashad’s most immediately gripping and memorable hooks to date.
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May 5, 2026Rashad has delivered yet another excellent project, striking a delicate balance between exploring new sounds and remaining true to what has always made his music so appealing.
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May 7, 2026Citing Prince and OutKast as touchstones, the record has a sun-damaged feel that envelopes the darker material without washing it out.
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May 6, 2026The vibey, occasionally anesthetized sound can begin to feel flat and mushy at times, but Rashad’s nimble flows and sharp songwriting keep the album in focus, even when the thematic and sonic heaviness feels like walking through the desert in a weighted vest.
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May 5, 2026Most of the album evokes the muddy, melancholy Southern blues of mid-’90s rap, like UGK’s Ridin’ Dirty and Scarface’s The Untouchable, as well as the work of Big K.R.I.T., another Dirty South revivalist who couldn’t quite break out of rap’s middle class.
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May 5, 2026The album’s palette is a little rock-leaning, a bit jazzy, and kind of reminiscent of the L.A. beat movement and artists like Flying Lotus. But it doesn’t commit to any of these things, nor synthesize them enough, to generate a compelling overarching style. This time around, Rashad hasn’t found a way to make going in circles play like anything other than running in place.